Category: Expository Writing

WWE and wrestler Drew Gulak parted ways. This is after Gulak lost his match to Daniel Bryan in the Intercontinental Championship tournament.

Jinder Mahal is rumored to have a babyface run now that he’s back. He’s been absent due to recovering from a knee injury. While being interviewed he stated that his journey will be a hero’s journey.

Basketball

NBA.com is reporting that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the rest of the passengers in the crash all died instantly. The Los Angeles County coroner reported that the victims had broken bones, dismembered body parts, and smelled of fuel. The report summarized that they all died from the blunt force trauma of the crash and not the subsequent injuries. Bryant and the others were heading to a tournament, but the helicopter flew into thick fog and they crashed, and when the pilot, Ara Zobayan, tried to clear it, the helicopter took a turn and crashed into the hills. They are reported to have crashed at 184 mph with the impact scattering the bodies and debris over the size of a football field. Bryant was found outside the wreckage, his daughter found on the ravine. For more on this sad story: https://www.nba.com/article/2020/05/16/autopsies-show-bryant-passengers-died-instantly

NBA teams started to reopen their gyms and allow players to work out. Kevin Love expressed how happy he was to return to the gym. There still isn’t any news on if the season will continue, but owners are working on a plan that may see players return, but with no fans in attendance.

Football

Eagles center Jason Kelce believes Andre Dillard can take over at left tackle. Dillard is going into his second season and was drafted in hopes of taking over from Jason Peters. Peters is exploring free agency and it appears won’t be coming back. This is the first time since Peters arrived in Philly, that the Eagles had to worry about the position. The Eagles made it into the playoffs due to the Dallas Cowboys’ poor play in the last four weeks of the season.

Hockey

William Douglas, a writer for the NHL, hosts a blog called The Color of Hockey on the NHL site which covers people of color in the game of hockey. In his most recent post, he talks about Reggie Millette.

Baseball

MLB.com has a feature article on the best moments in each ballpark’s history.

I was talking to someone yesterday, and they told me how they feel they are becoming their child’s friend and less of a parent. I told her that instead of their child socializing with their friends only when their teacher does Zoom check-ins, that they and the other parents can arrange digital play dates.

Which brings me to my first pandemic SUGGESTIONS for playdates. Now, before I go into these, they are not proven. I’m not a parent. I was an elementary school teacher for three years and a teacher’s assistant for three years. The value of children socializing with each other is an important part of their education. During this unprecedented time, we have to remember that even if we are isolated, we have the means to stay connected than we ever had before.

Here are my suggestions:

Digital Play Dates: Hey come on, you know, I know, we all know every child, who is fortunate, has some form of tablet or phone, even a computer. Set up digital play dates with Zoom or Facetime. Call the parent of your child’s friend and let them play video games on the phone while they talk through Zoom. Both parents can setup Twitch accounts that allow the children to stream their games to each other and talk to each other.

Video Games can be Educational: STOP! I know you are already saying they play enough video games. I agree, but again, we are in unprecedented times. Video games would be a nice distraction for them from this pandemic. Remember, there is a host of educational games sites. Some are free and others have subscriptions, but they all offer subjects like math, language arts, science, and social studies. Check out EducationCity.com

Active Play Dates: Since they can video conference with each other, they can still play with each other. They can work out, dance, do Tik-Toks. They are plenty of physical activity programs online such as GoNoodle. I’m sure your child already knows this site from school. This would be an awesome way for you and the other parent to connect with the children as you supervised them or if you are now teaching.

Study/Work Groups: Yes, your children are receiving work from their teachers. Why not let your children work on assignments together? This will keep a social consistency that reminds them of being in school. Again, you have to coordinate with other parents, but this would do wonders for your child if they are starting to become bored with playing with themselves.

Read Aloud: Book time(no pun intended) for them to read to each other using sites like Zoom. Again, this is another activity that we used in school to increase reading comprehension and fluency. Again, your children would love to do this because they are connecting with each other and it will remind them of their routines from school.

I hope those suggestions help you and your child. Let me know in the comments.

Be Terrific!

Terrio Jenkins is a multi-media writer and designer,. He has a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design & Digital Media from Rowan College at Burlington County, and is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Reigning MVP Giannis Antentokounmpo has a heart that matches his talents. He believes in giving back to the community as his family struggled with finding food when he was younger. He revealed this during a video recorded by the NBA as part of its #ActsofCaring during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He talked about how there were community-based programs that helped low-income families. This made it important for him and his main motivation for helping community-based programs now.

NCAA sports do not pay their student-athletes. A topic that has been up to debate the last few years. The argument that NCAA profits off its players, but players can be punished for making money off their talents. Arguments include that elite players already have a free scholarship. One of the sports that comes into question is basketball. Over the years, the NBA has put rules in place that players have to go to college for at least one year, before being drafted. Now, there are ways around this. Players can go play internationally, like LaMelo Ball. However, a new opportunity is presenting itself here in America.

The NBA G-League, formerly known as the D-League, before Gatorade became an official title sponsor. The G-League is now a minor league that farms athletes for NBA teams. The concept is similar to minor league baseball. The G-League has become more prominent in the last decade, with now every NBA team being affiliated with a G-League team. Contracts are around $30,000 to $40,000.

Jalen Green is the top high school recruit and the first to sign with the G-League. The image is taken from NBA.Com. All rights reserved to NBA.com.

However, that is being changed. The league can now offer up to $120,000 for select prospects. The prospects in question? The top high school players. Three of the top players in high school, who would have spent next year in the NCAA, before being drafted into the NBA, have decided to sign with the G-league. Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, and Daishen Nix have all signed with the G-League.

Todd had committed to Michigan. Nix was signed by UCLA. Both decided to negate their commitments to sign with the G-league. Nix is highly considered to be the top point guard for the 2021 draft after his one year NCAA eligibility. Todd is a big athletic power forward. Green is the cream of the crop. He is expected to be the number one draft pick in 2021.

This changes the landscape for players in basketball to become professionals and enter the NBA. Complaints about the huge turnover due to NCAA basketball players of elite talent going to the NBA after a year is ruining college basketball. Now, with the G-League offering higher contracts, college basketball might lose the opportunity to even signed elite high school players.

Duke’s coach Mike Krzyzewski was interviewed about it on NBA.Com. ““It’s affected our game,” Krzyzewski said. “Really, anybody can win. I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m saying that’s what happened. … If you look at this as a business, the amount of guys going (to the NBA), the amount of guys testing (the NBA waters), the amount of guys transferring, whoa. Whoa. It’s a lot. It’s a lot.”

Recently, the NCAA has decided to have each division write their own rules on how to allow college athletes to make money off their names and talents. The president citing that times are different and they [NCAA] have to change with it. The NCAA will have to wait on each state legislature before moving forward with it, but this is a win for college athletes, who bring in millions for their schools. For college basketball, this is an important change that needs to happen as the rise of the G-League continues to become a threat.

On April 27, the NBA reported on its website that the Los Angeles Lakers return the $4.6 million they received from the stimulus loan program. The program was meant for small businesses but was depleted by large businesses like Shake Shack.

The Lakers are worth $4.6 billion according to Forbes in a February report by azcentral.com.

Small Businesses, often consider to be the heart of the economy, were not able to receive the loan they desperately need because of corporations like the Lakers and Shake Shack being able to draw upon the package.

To note, as of the writing, it appears the Lakers were the only NBA team to apply for the loan. The Lakers organization is one of the biggest markets in the NBA. In 2019 their operating income was $178 million dollars. They average around $54in revenue per fan. They spend $120 million on player expenses.Their revenue is 434 million. They are also sponsored by the likes of American Express, Delta Airlines, Nike, Staples, Toyota, and Verizon Wireless, amongst others.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting every company, especially those of the entertainment variety like the NBA. The Lakers is an organization that doesn’t need to take part in a small business loan program.

However, the Lakers issued a statement on Monday, saying that they qualified for and received the loan under the Payroll Protection Program. When they heard the funds were depleted, they felt the financial support would be directed to those most in need.

According to NBA.com, the Treasury Department issued further guidance for the loan program, asking larger companies not to apply if they don’t need the money for survival.

One of the reasons the Lakers qualified is because they only have 300 employees, but are the NBA’s second most valuable franchise. No one has been fired at the time of this writing.

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Jameis Winston has signed with the New Orleans Saints. He will be a back up to Drew Bress and possibly Taysom Hill. After a lackluster three seasons with Tampa Bay, Winston has the chance to learn from Drew Brees, one of the most accurate passers in the NFL last year.

According to his interview with Jeremy Bergman, writer of Around the NFL, he seems excited about the opportunity. Winston considers Brees to be someone he has always looked up too and admired. He views this as preparation for the next phase of his career.

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The Raiders finished 4-12 two seasons ago and improved to a 7-9 last year in John Gruden’s sophomore year as head coach. They had glaring positional needs this year, chief among them being is improving the wide receivers and corner-backs.position. In the 2020 draft, the Raiders impressed with their picks and look ready to take another step towards their division rivals and reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the first round, the Raiders chose with the 12th pick wide receiver Henry Ruggs III from Alabama. This reunites Ruggs with the Raiders running back and college teammate, Josh Jacobs. Ruggs dedicated the night to his dead friend who encouraged him to pursue football. Ruggs is a speedy receiver that will compliment Tyrell Williams. With Williams’s questionable durability, Ruggs could be primed to become Derek Carr’s number one choice. He stretches the field which will allow newcomer Nelson Agholor to play slot receiver and open up Williams more.

With the 19th pick of the first round, they chose Damon Arnette from Ohio. A physical cornerback that helps improve their defensive backs. He seems to have a chip on his shoulder, from the answer he gave Coach Gruden on draft night, about not being the first cornerback chosen in the draft. The Raiders made the most out of this pick that came from Chicago.

The Raiders had three third-round picks at number 80,81 and 100. They drafted versatile Lynn Bowden Jr., from Kentucky who can play wide receiver and running back, giving the Raiders more flexibility to their offense and helping Josh Jacobs who had to carry the ball most of the time. Then they drafted Bryan Edwards a wideout from South Carolina. Edwards is a big, strong target that again gives Carr more weapons on the offense. Tanner Muse, a safety from Clemson, promises to make an immediate contribution to the defensive backs and special teams.

In the fourth round with picks 109 and 139, the Raiders drafted John Simpson and Amik Robertson. Simpson is a big guard that will be groomed to take over for the aging Richie Incognito. Giving the offensive line a younger, more dynamic future. Robertson broke into tears when he received the call from Gruden. Robertson is a cornerback from Louisiana Tech and will help improve defense and has great instincts.

The Raider’s improvement last year is thanks to a highly talented rookie class led by running back Josh Jacobs and defensive end Max Crosby. The Raiders improved both their offense and defense with their picks this year as they try to win the division from the Kansas City Chiefs.